Slab marking apparatus



Dec. 31, 1957 H. JACQUART SLAB- MARKING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet l FiledJune 25, 1954 INVENTOR.

-r'iemwm JACQUART Dec. 31, 1957 Filed June 25, 1954 H. JACQUART SLABMARKING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

HERMAN JACQUART N H. JACQUART' SLAB MARKING APPARATUS Dec. 31, 1957 6Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 25, 1954 H. JACQUART SLAB MARKING APPARATUSDec. 31, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 25, 1954 INVENTOR HERMANJACQUART Dec. 31, 1957 H. JACQUART ,8

SLAB. MARKING 'APPARATUS' Filed June as, 1954 v s Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR.

HERMAN JACQUART BY @EM v m H. JACQUART SLAB MARKING APPARATUS Dec. 31,1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 25, 1954 INVENTOR.

HERMAN JACQUART nited States Patent 2,818,014 Patented Dec. 31, 1957ferred embodiment of the apparatus of my invention afiixed to existingslabbing or blooming mill apparatus.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of my apparatus on the 2318,01 plane 11-11of Figure 1. SLAB MARKING APPARATUS 5 Figure 3 is a plan of my apparatuson the plane III-III of Figure 2.

Herman Jacquart Pittsburgh Pa. asslgnor to Jones &

Laughlin Steel borporation: Pittsburgh, Pin, a corpora .Flgure 4.another end elevatloli of apparatus m a mm of Pennsylvania dlfierentposition from that shown in Figure 2.

Figure 5 1s a view of the apparatus shown in Figure 2 Apphcaholl June1954, Semi! 439,429 1 taken on the inclined plane V-V of Figure 2.

9 Claims. (CL 101 4) Figure 6 is an exploded view of certain portions ofmy apparatus forming a mounting therefor.

Figure 7 is a front view of one of the elements of Figure 6.

' This invention relates to apparatus for marking identify- 15 Fi 3 i aperspective i of a il shown i mg characters on rolled metal bodies suchas slabs or mes d 7,

blooms. It is more particularly concerned with automatic Fi 9 i a l i fa ti of my apparatus.

apparatus for Such P p Whlch can he y added Figure 10 is an endelevation of the apparatus of Figto existing rolling mill apparatus. Myinvention is particuure 9,

larly adapted 9 the marklhg 0f hot-rolled Steel Slabs Figure 11 is adetail, in perspective, of a portion of my blooms and will be describedin this connection in the apparatus h i th mounting mea s fo a stampfollowing paragraphs, but is also useful for marking rolled h ld b di sf th r m ta s- Figure 12 is a detail, in perspective, of a rotary stampA heat of steel made to a specified chemical analysis h ld i d b myapparatus,

for a Specific Pmdllct is cast into a number of ingots, each Figure 13is a horizontal cross section of the rotary 0f WhICh We1ghs SeveraltOhS- Each lhgot h it has stamp holder taken on the plane XIIL-XIII ofFigure 10.

solidified is then rolled in a blooming or slabbmg mill to Figure 14 i aperspective of othe portion of the a body having a smaller cross sectionbut considerably rotary stamp holder of Figure 9.

great length than Original ingot- Thls honed y Figure 15 is a crosssection through the rotary stamp is conventionally cut into shorterlengths WhlCh can be h m on h plane XV XV of Figure 9,

conveniently accommodated in the reheating furnaces for the mills whichfurther reduce the steel. These sheared lengths may be called blooms orslabs depending on their relative dimensions. These lengths willhereafter be referred to as slabs, but it will be understood that theapparatus of my invention is equally applicable to blooms.

It is desirable that each slab carry upon it a number or other markidentifying the heat of steel from which it was made. It may bedesirable that each slab carry a mark In the figures a conventional slabshear 2 is shown in outline, as the shear itself forms no part of myinvention. This shear 2 is provided with a runout table 3 at its derlivery end which comprises a series of rotatable horizontally mountedrolls 55. Each side of runout table 3 is provided with an upright sideguard member 6. Adjoining slab shear 2 is an adjustable length gaugedesignated generally as 7, which is also shown largely in out line as itis also conventional and forms no part of my identifying the ingot 0mWhich it was rolled- It is invention. This length gauge 7 includes acarriage 8 which dhsifahle that each Slab carry sohle mark ihdicahhgmoves along a horizontal track 9 positioned above runout PE Q 1 the h thf th t 1t 22 e 22 gtble 3 :ndf parallile to the long gxlis 0; thisrunout ftallile; e C emica COIIIPOSI 1011 0 e op sec on 0 an 1n n5 en 0trac 1'5 511 one I e ousin 0 3a of steel differs from that of the bottomsection because shear 2 d h other gg b a gtructural l t 10 ofsegregation 0f Constituents Occurring during the COOlihg which straddlesrunout table 3. A screw 12 extends horand solidification of the moltensteel in an ingot mold. i ll dj track 9 d i rotated by motor 13 d Sincesteel ingots are rolled at temperatures in the neighappropriate gearingnot h A nut 15 hi h engages grgihoiitd 0ft 2 00((i) ;fiF.,1tfl1e f i c ig ff r g whlqzh ai fi b screwdlg iskaffixdet to Iizarlriage 8 s; tghitcarriage 8 inay be 1 cu 1S 1 11 0 II a me 111 1 move ac an ort a ongtrac y rotation o screw effective at this temperature, and it isdifficult t0 apply 12. Carriage 8 carries a gauge member 14 having aplane such a mediurgl to a hO lo dyf h i i d that vertical end face 16.Member 14 can be raised and lowthe m i8 6 means 0 i ehti Y a 0t 0 Y isto ered vertically on carriage 8 by means of a rack 18 and stamp anidentifying character into the surface of e o y pinion 19. In itslowermost position element 14 rests on with a steel stamp. Since a markpenetrating the surface runout table 3 and its end face 16 forms a stopagainst deeply enough to be an identifying mark may cause surwhich aslab 20 may be run before being sheared. Pinion face imperfectionsduring later rolling, such marks as a 19 is IOtated y Square Shaht 22 pWhich it is slidfiahly practical mafia must be applied to the end f 1mounted. Square shaft 2 is rotated by means not shown. It is an object,therefore, of my invention to provide Upon fi f of carnage, 8 1s boltedof welded a b apparatus for automatically Stamping the ends of plate 24which 1 s formed w1th a pair of undercut yertical cessive slabs withidentifying characters. It is another .slots 25*25 m Its Front A plaiels provided on 1ts back surface with a pair of pro ecting keys 29-29 obect of my invention to provide such apparatus which which fit into Slotsand hold late 27 in lace on may be installed at the location where slabsare sheared. plate 24 Plate 27 may be readily aufched to or getached Itis another Object to Y q Such apparatfls which i from base plate 24. byvertical movement. Plate 27 is of m e s ace in u at e ements w ic ormone ortion pp other Objects of my invention Will appeal in o f a hinge.The other portion of this hinge is fOII I IBd by the course of thefollowing description of a present p aligned spaced tubular elements31-31 attached to the ferred embodiment thereof. top edge of a plate 33.Pin 34 passes through tubular ele- In the attached figures to whichreference is now made: Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a presentprements 30-30 and 31-31 and permits plate 33 to be moved with respectto plate 27 about pin 34. Plate 27 is provided with upstanding lu'gs36-36 provided with openings 37-37. Plate 33 is provided with elongatedopenings 38-38 positioned to fit over lugs 36-36 when plate 33 ispositioned against plate 27. Pins 39-39 may be inserted through holes37-37 to lock plate 33 against plate 27.

Aflixed to plate 33 and inclined downwardly and outwardly from the topthereof is plate 40 which is braced by vertical braces 41-41 andhorizontal bracing member 42. The angle betweenplates 40 and 33 is about30. To the lower end of plate 40 is attached a heavy mounting plate 43.extending inwardly at right angles thereto. Plate 40 is also providedwith a slightly elongated opening 44 approximately in its center. On theunderside of plate 40 aligned bearing blocks 45-45 are positioned oneither side. of opening. 44. and in these bearings is pivotally mountedan air cylinder 47. Air cylinder 47 is provided with a piston, notshown, and piston rod 48, the lower end of which through clevis 49 ispivotally connected to lug 51 afiixed to plate 27. Air cylinder 47 is ofthe double acting type and is provided at either end with meansconnecting it to a source of air under pressure which are not shown.

Pivotally mounted on mounting plate 43 are a pair of parallel arms ofequal length 53 and 54. Arm 53 is pivoted at one end thereof about pivot55 on mounting plate 43, and arm 54 is pivoted at one end thereof aboutpivot 56 on mounting plate 43. Pivot 55 is closer to runout table 3 thanis pivot 56. A line through and normal to the axes of pivots 55 and 56makes an angle of about 45 with plate 40. Arm 53 is held in place onpivot 55 by nut 57, and arm 54 is held in place on pivot 56 by nut 58.Pivot 56 extends through mounting plate 43 and is freely rotatable inmounting plate 43. The upper end of pivot 56 is connected to crank arm60 and held firmly in connection therewith by nut 61. At one corner ofmounting plate 33 a bracket 62 is provided with a projecting lug 63which is pivotally connected to a clevis 64 rigidly attached to an aircylinder 66. The piston rod 67 of air cylinder 66 terminates in a clevis68 which is pivotally connected to the end of crank arm 60. Air cylinder66 is likewise a double acting air cylinder and is provided at eitherend with connections to a source of air under pressure, not shown.

The opposite ends of parallel arms 53 and 54 are pivotally connected toa stamper head designated generally as 70. Stamper head 70 is providedwith a bifurcated shank end 71-71 which is inclined thereto at an angleof about 30". Thus the angle between stamper head 70 and parallel arms53 and 54 is complementary to the angle between mounting plate 43 andplate 33. Arm 54 is pivotally connected. to bifurcations 71-71 by pivot73. Pivot 73 is held inplace by a key 72 fitting a mating keyway inpivot 73 and fastened to shank 71 by screws 76-76. Arm 53 is pivotallyconnected to shank 71 by pivot 74, which is keyed to arm 53 by key 75and pivots freely in bifurcations 71-71. The end of pivot 74 projectingabove shank 71 is formed into a cam-shaped projection 77, which iselongated at right angles to the long axis of arm 53. As has beenmentioned, arms 53 and 54 are parallel to each other and of the samelength. For this reason pivot 74 is nearer to the junction of stamperhead 70 and bifurcations 71-71 than is pivot 73.

Stamper head 70 has a stamping face 80 which is perpendicular andprojects forward slightly from its body. Vertical face 80 and the frontface 81 of the body of stamper head 70 are connected by a short verticalface 82 perpendicular to both. of them. In the projecting corner formedby the intersections of faces 80 and 82 is machined an arcuate groove orchannel designated generally 83 having a back wall 84 which is a portionof a cylinder, a plane upper face 85, a plane lower face 86 parallelthereto, and a frontwall87, which is alsoa portion of a cylinder and isuniformly spaced from back wall 84.

Front wall 87 is not continuous but extends downward from face a shortdistance and upward from face 86 a short distance only, leaving a gap oropen space 88. A die holder block 90 is formed with an arcuate flange 91dimensioned to fit within arcuate channel 83, a forwardly projectingportion 93 which projects outwardly through opening 88 when flange 91 iswithin channel 83 and an upward projection 95 on forward projection 93.A recess 96 in the face of forwardly projecting portion 93 accommodatesstamping dies 97-97. These dies are made with a semi-cylindricaltransverse groove 98 in their bottom faces, and the bottom face ofrecess 96 is also provided with a mating semi-cylindrical transversegroove 99 which continues through the side walls of recess 96 as a hole100. The dies 97 may therefore be locked in die holder block 90 byinserting pin 102 into hole 100 and through the cylindrical openingformed by channel 99 in die holder block.90 an groove 98in each stampingdie 97.

The the holder: bloclc 90.is1 held in stamper head 70 by the engagementof flange 91 and arcuate channel 83. Flange 91 is dimensionedtofitslideably in channel 83 so that die holder block: 90zcan slide inchannel 83 so as to tilt the plane'of the faces of stamping dies 97 withrespect to front face 80 of stamper head-70. Thus, die holder 90 isself-aligning with respect to the ends of slabs it is required to stamp.Upon the upper face of stamper head 70 in line. with upwardprojection 95of die holder block 90 is an upright projection 101. Pivotally mountedon projection 101 by means of bolt 103 and nut 104 are a pair of arms106 and 107', one on each side of projection 101. These arms 106 and 107extend beyond the front face 80 of stamper head 70. and are formed toengage opposite side faces of upwardprojection 95 of die holder block90. These arms are made of spring steel so that they yieldably restrainmotion of die holder block 90 in arcuate groove 83. Spring arms 106 and107 urge die holder block 90 towarda position in which its front face isparallel with front face 80 ofstamper head 70.

The outer end of stamper head 70 is split or bifurcated into a pair ofparallel elements 109-109. In the space between these elements 109-109is rotatably mounted a rotary die holder designated generally as'110.Rotary die holder 110 is made of two separable portions split on a planeperpendicular to its axis of rotation. The larger portion 112:0f thisdie holder is a1disk including a hub element 113 whichhas the form of aregular prism. This prismatichub hasas many faces as stamping dies 114which itis desired toiinclude in rotarystamping head 110. In theembodiment shown hub 113 is octagonal in cross section, and stamperhead110 is provided with eight stamping dies 114. Portion 112 of dieholder 110 is provided with eight channels. 115,-115, each extending0utwardly at right angles from-a face of hub1-13 to the circumference ofdie holder'110. Each channel 115 is positioned to abut a face of Mb 1 13near an edge thereof, and channels 115-115 areregularly spaced about thecircumference of die holder 110. Each channel 115 is dimensioned topermit a stamping die 114 to fit slideably therein. Portion 112 ofrotary die holder 110 is provided on its inner facewith an annularchannel 117 through the segments of portion 112 between channels.115-115. Each stamping die 114 is likewise provided on its bottom facewith a transverse groove 119, the outer edge of which is aligned withthe outer edge of annular channel 117. The transverse channel 119 ineach die 114 is out as a portion of an annular channel concentric withthe center of hub 113. Rotary die' holder 110 is completed bydisk-shaped portion 121 which mates with portion 112 and is formed withan upstanding annular key 122, which fits within annular channel 117 andchannel elements 119, of each die 114 to lock dies 114 in place inrotary die holder 110. Annular key 122 of die holder portion 121 is notcontinuous but is formed with a gap 123 in its circumference of a widthequal to or slightly greater than the width of a channel 115. Hub 113 isprovided with a central bore 125 and keyway 126, and die portion 121 islikewise provided with a mating bore 127 and keyway 128. The die holder110 is assembled on shaft 130 and locked together by key 131. The gap123 in annular key 122 of die holder portion 121 is positioned so thatit falls between a pair of dies 114 when rotary die holder 110 is lockedtogether. This gap 123, however, permits a single die 114 to bewithdrawn from die holder 110 and replaced without disassembling theentire rotary die holder. This is accomplished by moving shaft 130upwardly a distance sufficient for key 131 to clear the upper edge ofkeyway 126 in die holder portion 121. Element 121 can then be rotatedabout shaft 130 until gap 123 in keyway 122 is aligned with channel 115containing a die 114 which it is desired to remove.

The upper end of shaft 130 terminates in a ratchet wheel 132. The upperface of rotary die holder 110 carries a number of sawtooth-profiledgrooves 133133 disposed at regular intervals about its circumference,each groove 133 having a vertical edge 135 and an inclined edge 136. Aclevis 138 is affixed to the upper surface of stamper head 70 near frontface 80 and within this clevis 138 is pivotally mounted a dog 139 whichprojects downwardly over front face 80 of stamper head 70 so as toengage the grooves 133-133 formed in the upper face of rotary die holder110. A fiat spring member 140 is aflixed to front face 80 of stamperhead 70 so as to restrain yieldably upward motion of dog 139 about itspivotal mounting in clevis 138. This dog 139 and the grooves 133-433previously mentioned form a detent which permits rotary stamping head110 to rotate on shaft 130 in one direction only. Rotation of rotary dieholder 110 in the direction which causes inclined face 136 of a groove133 to lift dog 139 against the restraining force of spring member 141)may be effected, but rotation in the other direction brings verticalface 135 of a groove 133 against the outer face of dog 139, pushing itsquarely against front face 84) of stamper head 70. The detent mechanismformed by dog 139 and grooves 133 133 is also used to positionsuccessive stamping dies 114 carried by rotary die holder 110 in theproper stamping position. This is accomplished by proper location ofgrooves 133-133 with respect to the dies 114-114.

Ratchet wheel 132 has as many teeth as there are dies 114-114 in rotarydie holder 110. In the embodiment shown ratchet wheel 132 has eightteeth, each with a perpendicular face 142 and an inclined face 143.Ratchet wheel 132 is mounted with respect to rotary die holder 116 sothat if force is exerted against a vertical face 142 of a tooth, dieholder 110 will be rotated in the direction permitted by its detentmechanism. It was previously mentioned that channels 115115 in rotarydie holder 110 abutted the plane faces of hub 113 near the outer edge ofeach such face. These channels 115 are so positioned that a forceexerted against a stamping face of a stamping die 114 tends to rotaterotary die holder 110 in the direction prevented by the detent mechanismcomprising dog 139 and grooves 133133 previously described.

A guide member 145 is aflixed to stamper head 70 so as to project abovethe surface thereof near ratchet wheel 132. This guide member 145 isformed to permit sliding motion in its axial direction of elongatedmember 146. The outer end of member 146 is formed into a hook-likeprojection 147 which is adapted to engage a vertical face 142 of ratchetwheel 132. Flat spring member 149 attached to guide member 145 urgesprojection 147 toward ratchet 132. The inner end of element 146 isjoined by threaded rod 144 to a clevis 150 which is pivotally connectedto a lever arm 151 at a point near one end thereof. Lever arm 151 ispivotally mounted by means of bolt 152 intermediate its ends uponstamper head 79 so that its free end 154 is adjacent to cam-shapedprojection 77 previously mentioned. Since cam-shaped projection 77 isinclined to the plane of stamper head 70, the free end 154 of lever arm151 is bevelled to engage a side face of projection 77. Guide memberpreviously mentioned is provided with a bracket 156, and a tensionspring 157 is connected between this bracket and a pin 158 in the end oflever arm 151 adjacent clevis so as to urge free end 154 of lever arm151 toward cam-shaped projection 77. Threaded rod 144 previouslymentioned has right hand threads at one end and left hand threads at theother. Elements 146 and 150 are likewise tapped with'right and left handthreads, respectively, so that the distance between elements 146 and 150may be adjusted by turning threaded rod 144. Rod 144 may then be lockedby turning jam nut 153 tight against clevis 150.

The operation of the apparatus of my invention will be set out inconnection with the present preferred embodiment thereof which isillustrated in the attached figures and has been described in theforegoing paragraphs. As I have mentioned, I prefer to install myapparatus at the slab shear since this is a convenient place forstamping the ends of the sheared slabs. I also prefer to aflix myapparatus to existing structures conventionally forming a part of a slabshear. When a steel ingot has been rolled into a body of reduced crosssection and increased length which is to be sheared into slabs, therolled body is passed through the opened shear a distance equal to thelength of the first slab to be sheared off. A length gauge of somedescription must be used to facilitate the positioning of the rolledbody for shearing to the proper length, and, as I have indicated, a slabshear is conventionally provided with such a gauge which can be movedalong a track mounted above the shear runout table. This horizontaltrack 9 is conventionally marked off in units of length. A carriage 3moves along this track as has been mentioned and is provided with amovable gauge member 14, the vertical end face 16 of which acts as astop against which the rolled body 20 may be advanced. In Figure 1 ofthe drawings, this member 14 is shown as raised above the runout tableto permit operation of my stamping apparatus and transfer of the shearedslab 211 along runout table 3. It will be understood that this member 14is lowered to the table level to position slab 20 for shearing. Afterthe slab 20 has been sheared in the conventional way and gauge member 16has been raised in the position shown in Figure 1, the operation of myapparatus commences.

It will be seen that my apparatus, mounted on carriage 8 which is a partof length gauge 7 conventionally used with a slab shear, isautomatically properly positioned for stamping slabs sheared to anylength determined by the setting of length gauge 7.

It will be assumed that plate 33 of my apparatus is locked against plate27 as is shown in Figures 1 and 2. It will also be assumed that parallelarms 53 and 54 are drawn upwardly and outwardly in the position shown inbroken lines in Figure 3. With the apparatus of my invention in thisposition, air is admitted to the clevis end of air cylinder 66, causingpiston rod 67 to move outwardly and turn crank 66 about pivot 56. Thiscauses parallel arm 54 to swing downwardly and inwardly in a planeinclined to a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of runouttable 3. Parallel arm 53, of course, also swings downwardly, and the twomove stamper head 70 so that it is brought in and down against the endof slab 21 The parallel linkage provided by arms 53 and 54 maintains thestamping head 70 in the same angular position with respect to slab 20throughout the abovedescribed movement; in other words, the movement ofthese parallel arms imparts motion of translation only to stamper head70. After the stamper head has been brought into contact with slab 20,impressing dies 97-97 and 114 upon the end face of slab 20, air isadmitted to the other end of air cylinder 66 which causes arms 53 and 54toswing upwardly and, outwardly again back into the position shown inbroken lines in Figure 3. The stamper head 70 of my apparatus is thusswung from a position above and outside the runout table 3 over sideguard member 6 and against slab 20 on runout table 3, and back againinto its original position where it does not interfere with further useof runout table 3.

Stamper head 70 has been described as provided with two stamping dieholders. Die holder 90 is adapted to hold a number of individualstamping dies which may carry the heat number of the heat of steel fromwhich the slabs were made. This heat number or other designation must bechanged manually when an ingot from a different heat is rolled andsheared. When the apparatus of my invention is in the position shown inbroken lines in Figure 3, this change can be readily made as the stamperhead 70 is clear of runout table 3. As has been mentioned, die holder 90fits into an arcuate channel in stamper head 70 and is so mounted thatit may slide in this channel sufficiently to align the faces of stampingdies 97-97 with the end face of slab 20 if the latter is not square, asis frequently the case. When stamping dies 9797 are out of contact withslab 20, however, spring arms 106 and 107 restore stamping die holder 90to its original position in which the faces of stamping dies 97-97 areparallel to the front face 80 of stamper head 70.

Stamper head 70 also carries rotary die holder 110. The dies 114114carried by die holder 110 may bear numbers one through eight, or othercharacters which designate the successive slabs sheared from a singleingot. The die 114 in stamping position must therefore be changed eachtime a slab is stamped by my apparatus, so that the next stamping die114 in order is in proper position. This change is accomplished byrotating rotary die holder 110, and my apparatus is constructed so as torotate rotary die holder 110 automatically in amount sufiicient to bringthe next adjoining stamping die 114 into stamping position each timestamper head 70 is swung down and back again from its retractedposition. It can be seen from Figure 2 that when my apparatus is instamping position cam-shaped projection 77, which is rigidly attached toparallel arm 53, does not make contact with lever arm 151. When stamperhead 70 is swung to its retracted position, however, it may be seen fromFigures 9 and 10 that the outer end face of cam-shaped projection 77bears against the bevelled end 154 of lever arm 151. This causes leverarm 151 to move in a counterclockwise direction about pivot 152, pullingarm 146 so that projection 147 engages vertical face 142 of one tooth ofratchet 132, and as arm 146 is moved longitudinally, ratchet 132 isturned in a counterclockwise direction until projection 147 slips offthe tooth with which it was engaged. The detent mechanism comprising dog139 and the various grooves 133-133 permits rotary stamping head 110 tomove in this direction, and positions it after such movement so that thenext adjoining stamping die 114 is in stamping position. Thus, each timestamper head 70 is swung downwardly and back again rotary die holder 110is turned up one position. If the number of slabs sheared from an ingotis less than the full number of dies carried by rotary head 110, theinitial die can be brought into position for the first slab in the nextingot by swinging stamper head '78 downward and back again the propernumber of times before the next slab 20 is in stamping position.

The apparatus of my invention may easily be swung entirely clear ofcarriage S for maintenance purposes. To do this keys 39-39 are knockedout of lugs 36-36. Air is then admitted to the outer end of air cylinder47 which causes plate 33 and all the apparatus attached thereto to swingoutwardly and upwardly about pin 34 to the position shown in Figure 4.

Iclainr:

l. Apparatus for stamping identifying characters on a slab comprising arunout table adapted to receive a slab, a mounting plate positionedabove said runout table, said mounting plate being inclined at an angleto a vertical plane through the long axis of said runout table, a pairof parallel arms of equal length each pivotally mounted at an endthereof on said mounting plate, said pivots being unequally spaced fromsaid runout table, a stamper head having a shank portion inclinedthereto at an angle, said angle being complementary to said angle ofinclination of said mounting plate, said shank portion being pivotallyconnected to each of said parallel arms at the opposite end thereof,stamping die means afiixed to the face of said stamper head, and meansfor moving one of said parallel arms about its pivot on said mountingplate whereby the stamper head is swung without rotation from a positionabove the runout table inwardly and downwardly against the end of a slabupon the runout table.

2. Apparatus for stamping identifying characters on a slab comprising arunout table adapted to receive a slab, a horizontal track positionedabove the runout table and extending parallel to the long axis thereof,a carriage movable along said track, a mounting plate affixed to saidcarriage and inclined outwardly and upwardly with respect thereto at anangle to the vertical, a pair of parallel arms of equal length eachpivotally mounted at an end thereof on said mounting plate, a stamperhead pivotally connected to each of said parallel arms at the oppositeend thereof, stamping die means affixed to the face of said stamperhead, and means for moving one of said parallel arms about its pivotalmounting on said mounting plate whereby the stamper head is swungwithout rotation from a position above the runout table inwardly anddownwardly against the end of a slab upon the runout table.

3. Apparatus of claim 2 in which the mounting plate is affixed to anupright member which is pivotally mounted on the carriage about a pivotparallel to the long axis of the runout table and including means forswinging said. upright member about said pivot whereby said stamper headcan be withdrawn to one side of said runout table and said stamping diemeans made readily accessible.

4. Apparatus of claim 2 in which said stamping die means are disposedabout the periphery of a rotatable die holder, and including meansoperated by movement of saidparallel arms to rotate said rotatable dieholder.

5. Apparatus for stamping identifying characters on a slab comprising amounting plate, a pair of parallel arms of equal length, each pivotallymounted at an end thereof on said mounting plate, a stamper headpivotally connected to each of said parallel arms at the opposite endthereof, a cam-shaped projection afiixed to one parallel arm, arotatable die holder mounted on the stamper head and provided with aplurality of stamping dies disposed about its periphery, detent meansadapted to hold said die holder in each of a plurality of positionspresenting a stamping die in stamping position, a ratchet wheel fixed tosaid rotatable die holder, tripping means moveably mounted on saidstamper head engaging a tooth of said ratchet wheel and bearing againstsaid camshaped projection, means urging said tripping means against saidcam-shaped projection, and means for moving one of said parallel armsabout its pivotal mounting on said mounting plate, whereby said movementcauses said cam-shaped projection to move said tripping means and bringabout rotation of said rotatable die holder sufficient to advance intostamping position the next adjoining die.

6. Apparatus of claim 5 in which the tripping means comprise an armmounted on said stamper head for longitudinal movement, one end of saidarm being provided with a projection engaging a tooth of said ratchetwheel, and the other end of said arm being pivotally attached to an endof a lever arm pivotally mounted at a point intermediate its ends onsaid stamper head, the other end of said lever arm bearing against saidcam-shaped projection.

7. Apparatus for stamping identifying characters on a slab comprisingelongated means for supporting a slab so that an end face thereof issubstantially perpendicular to the long axis of said elongated means, amounting plate positioned above said elongated means and inclineddownwardly toward a vertical plane through the long axis of saidelongated means, a pair of parallel arms of equal length each pivotallymounted at an end thereof on said mounting plate in a plane parallelthereto, a stamper head pivotally connected to each of said parallelarms at the opposite end thereof, stamping die means afiixed to the faceof said stamper head, and means for moving one of said parallel armsabout its pivot on said mounting plate whereby translational motion onlyis imparted to said stamper head when it is swung against an end face ofa slab.

8. Apparatus of claim 7 in which the face of the stamper head isprovided with an arcuate channel and the stamping die means are affixedto a die holder block having a projecting portion fitting within saidarcuate channel whereby said die holder block may slide in said arcuatechannel so as to tilt the face of the stamping die means relative to theface of the stamper head.

9. Apparatus of claim 7 in which the face of the References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 920,995 Proll May 11, 19091,262,857 Sinnott Apr. 16, 1918 1,655,029 Tibbetts Jan. 3, 19281,758,436 Fitzgerald May 13, 1930 1,987,370 Pleger Jan. 8, 19352,002,847 Atti May 28, 1935 2,082,718 Pori June 1, 1937 2,232,528Hoffman Feb. 18, 1941 2,418,213 Winterkamp Apr. 1, 1947 2,641,995Whittaker June 16, 1953 2,641,996 Turner June 16, 1953 2,646,746 MullerJuly 28, 1953 2,690,116 Meyer Sept. 28, 1954

